TIM ROLLINS AND K.O.S.: PROMETHEUS BOUND FOR ARTISTS' WEB PROJECTS

Launched September 18, 1997

Sep 08, 1997

On September 18, 1997, artists Tim Rollins and K.O.S. (Kids of Survival) will launch their first project for the world wide web, Prometheus Bound, the sixth in Dia's series of artists' projects for the web. The address for the project will be http://www.diacenter.org/kos/.

Tim Rollins and K.O.S. is a collective of a dozen student artists, ages 9-25, and artist/teacher Tim Rollins, who started the group in the early 1980s with his students from the South Bronx. Continuing their tradition of taking classical texts as points of departure for new artworks, Tim Rollins and K.O.S. have chosen Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (c. 450 BC) for this web project. In the play, Prometheus is punished for his defiance of the gods, in particular, for his gift of fire to humanity.

For their web project, Tim Rollins and K.O.S. have initiated a series of dialogues on the current meanings of Prometheus Bound. These dialogues are carefully crafted into long screens, more closely resembling scrolls than pages. The dialogues are illustrated with images ranging from Rubens paintings to comic book characters. Visitors to the site will be welcome to contribute to the discussions, and the artists will integrate these responses into future dialogues. In making this work of art for the web, the artists hope to reveal their working process to interested students and educators, while offering the public a chance to take part in the creation of this new work.

Rollins and K.O.S. are making their own translation of Prometheus Bound, which will be available later this fall in audio on the website.

Funding for this project has been provided in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Dia Center for the Arts is a tax-exempt charitable organization. Established in 1974, the organization has become one of the largest in the United States dedicated to contemporary art and contemporary culture. In fulfilling this commitment, Dia sustains diverse programming in poetry, visual arts, education, and critical discourse and debate.